Have you ever wished you had an unlimited slush fund that you could use for anything you wanted? I suspect everyone does now and then. Unfortunately, there is always a bill at the end of the line, and someone has to pay it. Most people must live within a budget, or we get into trouble. Why has this concept eluded Washington lawmakers? What makes them any different than the average American?

Before 2008, we didn’t pay attention to what our elected officials were spending. We just assumed they earned their salaries and were taking care of us. Since our economic troubles began, though, we have noticed the increasing extravagance of many of those who we trusted with our money.

Joe Biden’s excessive lifestyle and travel are a hot topic on the blogs right now. His bill for two nights in a five star hotel in London and Paris cost us over a million dollars. This doesn’t include the more than 321 thousand dollars he splurged on limousine service while in Paris. Biden commutes to Delaware on Air Force Two almost every weekend, costing around $$60,000 a month. On some weekends, he goes to Delaware and returns to Washington to play golf with the President on Saturday. He goes back to Delaware for the rest of the weekend, adding more to the bill. This man has no idea how to live within a budget, neither in his personal life, nor as Vice President.

Barack Obama is worse than Biden. We just learned his daughters are in the Bahamas for Spring break on the taxpayer’s dime. In 2011, the Obama family bled us for 1.4 billion dollars on lavish vacations, clothes, jewelry, dinners, and personal staff to fulfill their every whim. On top of this excess, we pay them all a handsome salary.

Wasteful spending is common in Washington. Our government recently spent $385,000 to study a duck’s penis. Why they did this research is still up in the air. The IRS spent $1,000,000 on conventions in 2011 and another $60,000 on a six minute Star Trek video spoof with no real purpose. Each year Washington shells out millions of dollars in foreign aid to China. And what about the two revelations we received last week? The National Institutes of Health paid 1.5 million dollars to find out why 3/4 of lesbians are overweight, and another 2.7 million to study why lesbians drink too much.

We could go on to infinity with examples of Washington’s wasteful extravagance and their slush fund of taxpayer money, but it won’t change anything. I have just one question. What makes them think they are so much better than us? Why aren’t they accountable to the American taxpayer? Some would say, “This is the way we’ve always done it.” That may be true; however, we haven’t always been in the economic mess we’re in now.

Much of it can be attributed to Washington speak. Washington speak is simply terms, abbreviations and even concepts politicians understand and use to do what they want. It goes beyond jargon. Its ideas, and ways of thinking are unique to Washington.

Washington speak is a RINO’s or Democrat’s terminology, to say one thing and mean another. For example, when they say economic justice, shared responsibility, or earnings inequality, they actually mean redistribution of wealth or socialism. When they say deficit reduction, raising revenues, or balanced approach, they mean they want to raise taxes.

Washington speak isn’t limited to the words politicians use. It can also be ideas, like calling illegal aliens undocumented workers. Most of these ideas don’t make sense to the average American, though political insiders understand them. They use these terms and ideas to reinforce each other and justify their own actions. After all, they say, “It’s the way we do things here.”

I once saw this harmful behavior on a small scale. Years ago, I served as an associate pastor in a church for a year. We had a small congregation, and we all worked hard to build the church. The pastor’s wife suddenly lost her uncle to heart disease. He was a pastor at another church, not far from ours. After his death about forty members of his congregation joined ours. We almost doubled overnight.

The new members were all related to one another. Before long some of them began to say and do strange things. They attacked some members and ask others to leave. Their behavior and actions were almost bizarre. None of them thought it was strange. The more outlandish the ‘group think’ became, the more they defended one another.

When my year was up I took a church and got away as quickly as possible. District officials finally had to step in and make changes. That family was much like the political insiders in Washington. They were a large group doing things the way they had always done them. They had their own group dynamics and accepted standards of behavior that went totally against common sense and simple courtesy, but because they all agreed, it made it right.

RINOs and Democrats speak the same language. They move in the same circles and are virtually identical. Conservative values make them uncomfortable, and cause them to cling to one another in their flawed beliefs. They stand up for each other and attack anyone who shines the light of truth on one of their warped ideas. They tell each other they’ve earned their lavish lifestyle, and believe the taxpayer should be pleased to reward them for their service to their nation.

The only thing that saved the church was the district officials stepping in and bringing in principles that worked. Washington can be saved the same way. Tried principles of sound money management, concern for people and, determination to do what’s right can set America on the right path. Cleaning house in 2014 will be a great place to start. Then maybe we can get some people in office who talk American speak.

About the Author

Ann-Marie Murrell is the creator, owner, and Editor-in-Chief of PolitiChicks.com. She was the recipient of Front Page Magazine’s Glazov Gang Ronald Reagan Award and is co-author of the bestselling book, “What Women (Really) Want”. Ann-Marie is a regular on talk radio and has appeared on dozens of television shows including Fox & Friends, Hannity, the Dr. Phil Show, The Mike Huckabee Show, Lou Dobbs, C-SPAN, Stuart Varney & Company, Newsmax TV, CNN, MSNBC, and more. In addition to PolitiChicks, Ann-Marie has contributed to Townhall Finance, The Blaze, Daily Caller, Front Page Magazine, and other news sites. You can find Ann-Marie Murrell on Facebook and Twitter: @PolitichickAM E-mail: [email protected]